Short answers, pulled from the story.
Sire Records was founded in 1966 by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, originally under the name Sire Productions. Each of the two co-founders invested ten thousand dollars to start the label, which was built around introducing underground and progressive British music to the American market.
Sire Records signed the Ramones, the Dead Boys, the Undertones, and Talking Heads as part of its mid-1970s pivot to punk rock and new wave. The label secured a distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1977 and was subsequently acquired as a Warner Bros. subsidiary label.
Sire Records identified Madonna as its biggest act, and her commercial success through the 1980s brought the label to a new level of prominence in American popular music. She joined a roster that also included the Pretenders, Soft Cell, the Cure, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, and Echo & the Bunnymen.
Seymour Stein's total involvement with Sire Records and its parent company Warner Music Group spanned 51 years, ending with his departure from the label in July 2018. He co-founded the label in 1966 and also served as president of Elektra Records from 1994, overseeing Sire's distribution during that period.
London-Sire Records was formed in 2000 when Sire Records was merged with the US division of London Records, both part of Warner Music Group. The partnership was dissolved in April 2003, at which point the label reverted to the Sire Records name and returned to distribution through Warner Bros. Records.
Rani Hancock was named president of Sire Records in July 2017. Before joining Sire, she had served as executive vice president and head of A&R at Island Records. Seymour Stein remained at Sire as chairman until his departure from the label in July 2018.